Highway to the Hellmouth
by charleswallace
Summary: When the Winchesters hear of uber-strange happenings in a place called Sunnydale, they drive to California to check it out. What  or should I say who  they find surprises them.
1. Part I

**Highway to the Hellmouth - Part 1**

"Man, I love California."

A shiny, black '67 Impala sat idling at a stoplight, the sounds of classic rock wafted from the open windows. Dean Winchester sat in the drivers seat, bobbing his head along to the music and admiring the sunny, palm tree ridden surroundings. A less impressed Sam sat in the seat next to him, poring over a local newspaper and apparently ignoring his brothers' enthusiasm. Dean continued anyways,

"Warm air, the beach, Hollywood," he not so inconspicuously gawked at a blonde in a pink bikini and a pair of Daisy Dukes crossing the street in front of them, "fine pieces of a-"

"Could you concentrate on something other than chasing tail for ONE second, Dean?" Sam flourished his newspaper in a gesture of disapproval, although his eyes wandered for a second on the blonde.

"Come on, Sammy. You gotta lighten up. Maybe the fresh air will do you good." He glanced over to the newspaper held up to Sam's nose, then back to the newly green light. "Anything interesting?"

"Well, apparently where we're headed is like, the Mecca for all paranormal activity in this area. I mean, just look at this paper. Disappearances, strange and unexplained deaths."

"So it's like Woodstock for the supernatural"

"A lot less acid, a lot more vampires."

"I'm not sure which sounds more fun." Dean smirked, and turned onto a stretch of desert road, a sign in the distance the size of a postage stamp.

"This is serious business, Dean. We gotta keep our heads with this one."

"I know, I know. Jeez, Sammy. You talk like I haven't been doing this my whole life."

"I know you have Dean. It's just sometimes you get… reckless when you're excited."

"Reckless? I'm not reckless. I'm full of reck. You're reckless." Dean shot a smile and a glance at Sam, who still looked somber.

"Dean." The fresh air must be getting to his brother's head, Sam thought, as he caught sight the sign ahead. He squinted in the California sun that reflected off the expansive stretch of sand that surrounded them from all sides now.

"Yeah, yeah. But come on," Dean and Sam both gazed upwards at the now full sized sign in as they passed over the town border, "who could be afraid of a place called Sunnydale?"

Dean accelerated, the song on the radio ended, and the first few bars of Highway to Hell began to play.

{]º[}

The town was entirely too campy for the Winchesters; Mom and Pop stores on every corner, coffee shops with cutesy names and only one Starbucks. The only thing that caught their attention was an interesting little store called The Magic Box, which Sam made a mental note to check out later. They stood outside it, looking up at the gold lettering on the overhang and the constant ebb and flow of customers coming in and out.

'Busy, for an occult store." Sam observed, watching two young women walk out the front door, the younger one, a teenage girl with long brown hair talking animatedly with her hands, and bouncing along in step with the older, a mousy looking blonde who was holding a large pile of old, leather-bound books.

"Come on, Sam. They probably sell Harry Potter merchandise and crystal balls made of plexiglass. A few bundles of sage, a few gemstones. Make people feel like they know what they're doing." Dean laughed as Sam continued to watch the two girls.

The blonde, trying to balance the books and pay attention to the hyperactive teenager at the same time, lost her footing on the step down from the curb and her books spilled onto the road. The teenager squealed, and shouted apologies as the blonde began gathering her books back up. Sam and Dean sprinted over to the two girls, Dean bending over to pick up stray papers and Sam picking up a rather heavy and old looking volume.

"Hey, let me help." Sam said, looking down the book and then to the blonde, whose face had turned a bright red as she scrambled to pick up the last of the books.

"Oh, oh th-thank you!" she stammered, her voice airy and kind. Sam smiled warmly at her and placed the book on top of her pile. Dean had gathered the papers into a pile and turned to the teenager.

"Here." He smiled his best Dean smile, and winked at the girl. Her marble sized, bright blue eyes widened and a rose colour flushed across her freckled cheeks. She let out a small squeak and took the papers from him.

"That's a pretty intense looking book." Sam nodded to the large text he had placed on the pile. The blonde nodded and looked around, nervously. Sam tilted his head to the side, trying to read whether the girl was feeling guilty or just a very nervous person.

"I, uh, take a course. At UC Sunnydale. On the uh, the Oc-occult."

"That's pretty interesting," Dean sauntered over to her and checked the cover. "1000 Plants and Flowers and their Magikal Uses, eh? I didn't know the Occult had anything to do with botany."

"BAHAHAHAH." A loud and forced laugh erupted from the teenager, her eyes wide and set on Dean. When everyone turned to look at her, she occupied herself by fiddling with her peeling nail polish.

"Uhm…I'm Sam, this is Dean." Sam introduced himself, nodding at the blonde as Dean shook the brunette's hand.

"Dean…" the girl cooed, smiling at him with doe eyes. Dean raised his eyebrows, and she shook her head "I mean, Dawn. My name is Dawn."

"And I'm Tara," the blond chirped, and smiled "thank you for helping, but, uh, w-we have to get g-going. Come on, Dawnie."

Dawn looked dolefully at Dean and waved a little before bouncing off after Tara down the street. Sam smirked and nudged Dean in the ribs.

"Looks like someone's got an admirer."

"Just as long as she doesn't go all Misery on me, that's cool." Dean frowned a bit, and furrowed his brow. "You wondering what I'm wondering…"

"Whether or not UC Sunnydale actually has an Occult course or…"

"Or we may have found ourselves a witch or rwo."

Casting one last glance at the Magic Box, Sam and Dean went on their way once again.

{]º[}

"I feel like we're in a bad horror movie."

Dean and Sam had looked around town and to their disappointment, could not find anything of interest going on. Even after asking locals about the latest deaths or missing people, the residents of Sunnydale seemed altogether unphased by any strange happenings. In fact, they seemed to take it as a regular occurrence and showed no more worry about it than if Dean and Sam were to have asked them about the high school production of Oedipus The King. The only thing they had going for them was the information of a funeral happening that day, and the whisper of a rumour that the young boy had died from blood loss, and with a strange wound on his neck.

"This whole thing is just weird. I mean, if we're really dealing with vampires here, it's like, I dunno a whole different breed than what we're used to." Sam held a flashlight out before them, the ray of light bouncing off nearby headstones then falling away into the darkness with every step.

"Hold that thing steady, will ya? What was the name of the dead kid again?"

"Kevin Holburn. Not that it'll be hard to find, I mean how many fresh graves can there-" Sam stopped talking as the pair came across at least half a dozen fresh and open graves. Some had headstones, some didn't. Dean gave a sigh and smacked Sam on the arm.

"You frickin' jinxed it, asshat."

"So, what do we do? Do we dig him up, or do we just wait for him to come to us?"

"You wanna dig up all these fresh graves, you go right ahead Sammy boy." Dean nodded and plopped down onto a nearby stone bench, a large stone angel kneels behind him, it's face in it's hands. Sam looked over to his brother, and was about to say something about the angels wings being spread in such a way that they looked as if they were about to envelop Dean, when a sound coming from behind a giant mausoleum to their left caught their attention. They brothers didn't even look at one another and they both took off in a sprint.

Sams' long legs got him there first, where he found a young blonde girl laying on the ground, and some feet away a dirty looking young boy in a formal suit about to run full tilt at her. Dean appeared at his side, but before they could move again, the girl had flipped herself up into a standing position, and to the immense surprise of the Winchesters, ran at the (what they were assuming was) freshly unearthed vampire with unnerving speed and agility. They grappled for a moment, the girl showing no sign of injury or even slowing down every time the vampire landed a blow. She seemed to be dealing them out just as well as she was taking them. Dean leaned towards Sam, the two almost transfixed on the battle before them.

"Should we, uh, do something?"

'She looks like she's got it under control. Man, do you see this? She's got skills. You think, maybe, she's a hunter?"

Dean only had time to shrug before the girl had pulled something long and pointed out from her jacket and plunged it directly into the chest of the vampire. The vampire stood, frozen for a moment, then exploded into dust. The Winchesters stood, aghast, their mouths slightly open. The girl dusted the front of her jacket off and tucked her weapon away again. She shook her hair out, running her fingers through it before sweeping it across her shoulder. Dead swallowed hard.

"That was hot."

With catlike reflexes, the girl turned quickly towards them, into a fighting stance. The Winchesters took a step back simultaneously, Sam putting his hands up in front of him.

"Hey, hey it's okay. We're not here to hurt you."

"Oh, it's not me I'm worried about." The girl's voice was high and beautiful, but with an edge that made Dean look at his brother quickly in panic. Sam stood stock still, staring the girl down.

"What are you?"

"Capricorn on the cusp of Aquarius. Man, that's getting old." The girl frowned at herself, then took a step forward. "What are you?"

"Here to help." Dean replied, a slight crack to his voice. Sam nodded and the girl laughed an easy, incredulous laugh.

"Oh yeah, I knew I called in for some 'standing around' backup. So glad you guys made it in time."

"Was that a vampire?" Sam asked, mirroring the girl and taking a step towards her. Dean gave Sam a panicked glance and stayed where he was. The girl smiled and took another step as well.

"What are you?" she asked again, this time frowning deeply, a smoldering look coming over her eyes.

"I'm Sam Winchester, this is my brother Dean. We're hunters. We kill things like you just did."

"Oh, what like that?" the girl pointed up, above their heads. They boys only had time to turn before three vampires sprung from the top of the mausoleum they were standing beneath. The girl ran towards them, landing a kick square in the chest of the tallest vampire, knocking it backwards into the mausoleum and leaving a large crack in the heavy stone. Dean and Sam each took the other vampires, sparring with them as the blonde took out, what Sam could see more clearly, a wooden stake again and made to impale the vampire as she had done with the last one. She missed, and the large vampire grabbed her arm, twisting it behind her back. Sam attempted to aid her, but the vampire he was fighting was extremely strong, more than what he was used to. He glanced back at Dean, who was struggling with his own vampire. Sam was finally able to throw his to the ground, but was at a loss for a weapon to use. He wasn't used to having to bring stakes with him on a vamp job. His assailant was just about to gain the upper hand again when a swooshing sound and what looked like a large black bird jumped into the action and staked the vampire that was holding the girl. The two then turned and staked the other vampires; Sam's who was still on the ground and Dean's, who was distressingly close to taking a bite out of the older Winchester's neck.

When the dust cleared, Sam and Dean were face to face with a surly looking man, with dark, brooding eyes, a long black coat and hair that stuck straight up. He scowled at them, and turned to the blonde.

"Buffy, are you okay?" he put a large hand on her shoulder, a pained and worried expression on his face.

"I'm all sorts of good. Thanks, your timing is impeccable." Buffy smiled, then focused her gaze on the Winchesters. "To answer your question," she addressed them, as they stood and brushed themselves off, panting. "I'm the slayer….

…and you two have a lot of explaining to do as to why the hell you're in my town."

**A/N: **what I've learned: how to spell mausoleum.


	2. Part II

**Part Two:**

Dean and Sam sat in Buffy Summers' kitchen, each holding a mug of tea that the redhead of the house, Willow, had cheerfully made for them after Buffy had brought them home with her after what she called her "patrol". Willow now sat across from them, grinning awkwardly and shooting nervous glances into the dining room, where Buffy and the tall brooding guy, Angel, were having an intense conversation in low, muffled voices.

"She'll just be a minute." Willow smiled again and nodded, looking from Dean to Sam, then back to her own tea. Buffy had insisted on bringing the boys home with her, but Angel seemed to dislike the idea immensely.

"We don't know who they are, where they're from…we know nothing about them." they heard him angrily hiss at Buffy in the next room. Dean leaned back slightly, shifting his view out of the kitchen and into the dining room, where Buffy stood with her arms crossed, and Angel stood quite close, speaking into her ear.

"Sure we do. They're Sam and Dean Winchester and they are from Kansas. And the tall one has a really cute bu…" Dean saw Angel's face drop and Buffy look shyly at the floor "buuut we should really get back in there, we don't want to be rude." She bounced back into the kitchen, her blond ponytail swinging as Angel, frowning deeply, followed her in.

"We really don't mean to be any trouble, we can find a motel to stay in," Sam offered, putting his empty tea mug onto the island table.

"No, I think we better keep you where we can keep an eye on you." Angel growled, choosing the darkest corner of the kitchen to stand. Dean ground his teeth and stood up, staring Angel down.

"What the hell did we do wrong, huh? We told you, we're here to help."

"We don't need your help. And if you remember correctly, you guys are the once who seemed to need my help back there."

"Hey! I had it under control." Buffy pouted, crossing her arms. "Not very much control, but I had it under some semblance of control."

"See, you made the Slayer lose focus. She doesn't need another handsome, annoying distraction around here." Angel spat, looking darkly to the back door. Buffy scoffed.

"Excuse me, and what is THAT supposed to mean?"

"Uhm, guys! Guys, I think," Willow chimed in, looking frantically from Buffy to Angel, both who had fire in their eyes and a scowl on their face, "we should listen to what our guests have to say. I've already filled them in on Slayer lore, and from what I can tell, they're pretty much, well, boy slayers. Just without the long lineage and the whole life's calling thing."

"And we're here because all signs are pointing to something big happening here in Sunnydale, and very soon." Sam explained softly, looking more at Angel than Buffy. He stood and put both hands on the island. "We've got a friend who's been keeping track of paranormal activity in hotspot areas like this one; he looks back at the history of the place, puts the information into a database and it creates a sort of chart. It shows the rise and fall of activity according to history, and can show you patterns that are about to happen compared to what has happened in the past. Now, we don't know what exactly is going to happen, but we know it's big and we know it's here. That' why we're in Sunnydale."

"This is kind of our life too," Dean looked at Buffy and nodded, "we know what it's like to have a job with no benefits and a lot of danger. We're just, not used to your world I guess. Things are different here. But I promise, give us a quick lesson on how to kill your baddies and we'll be no trouble to you again." He shot a glaring look at Angel, who scoffed silently and stared at the floor.

"It's a good idea, Buffy. Things have been extra mo-joey lately. It wouldn't hurt to have backup." Willow said carefully, looking from Dean to Buffy. Buffy considered for a moment and nodded finally. Dean smiled, and couldn't stop himself from giving Angel a "nyeh nyeh" look before Buffy started to speak.

"Well, the guys will be over soon, we'll have to tell them about it too," her head turned to the sound of the front door opening, and two voices talking in the front hall "and that'll be Dawnie and Tara. DAAAWWWN?"

"WHAAAAAT?"

"C'MEEEERE."

"JUST A SECOND. JEEZ."

Sam and Dean exchanged looks before the young brunette from earlier in the day come bouncing into the room, the blonde right behind her. She stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted the Winchesters standing in the kitchen, and looked confusedly around the room.

"Dawnie, this is Dean and Sam Winchester. Guys, this is my sister Dawn. And this is-"

"Tara, yeah. We met them earlier today, actually." Sam smiled and nodded.

"Small world." Angel muttered from the corner.

"Yeah, pretty darn small. In fact, it's getting a little hot in here. Sammy, you mind if we get a little air?" Dean nudged Sam in the ribs before making his way out the back door. He heard Sam excuse them before following him outside.

"What is your problem?"

"Forehead guy is getting to me." Dean grunted, stretching his arms and breathing in deeply. Sam sat on the top step of the porch and sighed.

"Well, the more the merrier, right? If we've got as much to deal with as Willow was telling us, it really is a good idea that we have more backup."

"More people to look after, great."

"Look, it gets too tough then we'll bail. But give them all a chance." Sam looked up at Dean, eyebrows raised. Dean sighed and rubbed his forehead. A crack in the bushes behind the house caused them both to jump and look straight ahead. They tensed as the branches parted to reveal a pale, bleach blond head followed by a long leather jacket emerging from the bushes. The stranger looked up at them, confused.

"Sam," Dean whispered, still staring at the newcomer "Sam, am I dreaming? Is Billy Idol really standing in front of us?"

"Excuse me?" the man spoke with a British accent and Sam stood up, towering over him.

The back door opened and Buffy came out, looking around the group that now stood, tense and staring.

"Whoa, testosterone fest 2000. What's going on out here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, love. What's with the Hardy Boys here?"

"Hardy Boys?" Sam asked, incredulously.

"I'm totally Frank." Dean shot at Sam.

"Spike, come inside. Xander and Anya are here too. We've got stuff to discuss." Buffy turned and began walking back inside the house. Spike followed, walking past the Winchesters and staring at Sam the entire time. Sam frowned and looked to Dean, who shrugged and followed the others inside.

Sam sighed, and looked up to the sky. There weren't many stars out, but one did shine brighter than the rest. It twinkled at him as he closed his eyes and covered his face with his hands.

"What is going to happen that we need this much backup?" he asked himself quietly. He opened his eyes and saw the star flicker a bit, then go out completely.

{]º[}

The next few days were research central at the Summers house. The only problem was, they had not much to go on besides the fact that there had been more demon activity in Sunnydale in the past week than any of them could remember.

Slayer background fascinated Sam to no end, but Dean found it a bit unnerving, the amount of Girl Power going on in this house. He was so used to it just being him and his brother; the only female influence in his life was an occasional visit to Jo or a random hookup at a bar. It's not that he didn't think a woman could handle the job. In fact, he was proven that when Buffy kicked his ass in a sparring match the night before and his body was sore enough that he could pass it off as falling down a mountainside. He just had the overwhelming urge to protect the females of the Summers home. When it came down to the last jelly filled doughnut though, he steered clear of the frenzy of hair pulling and slap fighting that usually ended with Dawn as the victor and Willow stuck with a honey cruller.

Dean sauntered downstairs one morning to find the dining room table piled high with books. He stopped in the doorway and looked around. The house was quiet, which was odd considering Xander and Anya, Buffy's friends who lived downtown were in and out of the house on a daily basis. Willow and Tara, whom Dean realized were in a relationship after an awkward and ill timed pickup line about redheads towards Willow resulted in his jeans magically catching fire, went to UC Sunnydale but lived in the Summers house with Buffy and Dawn. He had gathered from snippets of conversation and photos around the house that Buffy and Dawn's mother had passed away, and quite recently as well. He watched the sisters often, seeing Buffy act as mother hen over her little sister. And of course, Dawn fought it with every fibre a 16 year old girl has in her being. But the love between them was apparent, and he had no doubt that Buffy would give anything for Dawn, as he would with Sam.

Sam was exactly what Dean was looking for at that moment, and only when he heard a small cough come from behind a stack of books did he realize where his brother might be. He peered over the top of the book fort to see Willow flipping through what seemed like her millionth dusty volume with a look of sheer and utter exhaustion on her face. Sam sat beside her, his head on the table, and from the soft snoring Dean wagered, was fast asleep. Willow looked up and smiled tiredly.

"Hey, Dean." She looked down at Sam and sighed. "Poor guy. He's pooped. Not used to the intense research sessions us Scoobs are."

"Yeh, about that. Scoobies? What are you, the Velma of the group?"

"I'd like to think so, considering my penchant for nerdy things and plaid skirts."

"If either of you call me Daphne, I will slay you."

Buffy entered from the kitchen, a mug of coffee in her hand. Dean smiled at her, admiring that even though she looked tired and had a growing bruise on her jaw, she seemed to glow. She noticed him staring at her and gave him a look, which he caught and shook his head, rubbing his eyes.

"So, what's up? Anything new, Will?" he asked, avoiding Buffy's curious gaze.

"Actually, I think I'm the one with the news."

They all turned to see Xander at the front door, Anya in tow. His normally smiling, kind face was lined with worry, and Anya looked nervous.

"What is it this time?" Buffy sighed, putting her hand on her hip.

"Hey remember that apocalypse thing?"

"Oh, the end of the world as we know it? Yeh, I've heard something about it. One or twice, you know." Buffy smirked, but her face dropped when she saw that Xander did no return her smile. "Xander, what is it."

"Well, I don't think it's so much the world this time as the whole universe."

They stood in silence, staring at each other with such intensity Dean could swear the three were reading each others minds. The silence was broken by Sam, who awoke with a start and a loud snorting sound.

"Whu-whadid I miss. What." Sam looked around, and met eyes with Dean. "What?"

{]º[}

The entire Scoobie gang and the newly inducted Winchester members (Willow had made each of them a certificate with gold stars) sat in the Summers living room. Buffy had called Angel and Spike, who didn't often stay very long, and had mentioned someone named Giles who would be arriving soon.

It had only been two weeks, but the Winchesters had fit nicely into the group; Sam and Willow had created a bond over their love of books and knowledge of all things paranormal, and Dawn had taken to following Dean around like a puppydog when she wasn't in school. Although at first Dean wasn't sure how to deal with it, he soon found himself showing her how to repair the Impala, change a tire, and even took her out for her first drive. He now sat on the sofa with Dawn on one side and Anya on the other. Buffy had taken to pacing back and forth between the living room and the dining room, her head jerking up to every sound outside, waiting for Giles.

Spike sat, sunk deeply into the armchair with a less than enthused look on his face, watching Sam closely as he went from fetching Willow different books to standing in the doorway and watching Buffy pace, a concerned look on his face. Dean had noticed it too; Sam and Buffy would often just look at one another and it seemed an entire conversation would happy just with their eyes. He wondered if his brother has been noticing Buffy in the way he had. He definitely knew Spike noticed Buffy, and often made snide comments to the Winchesters or Angel about her. Angel was the least pleased looking out of all of them, brooding as he normally did in the corner of the room. He also watched Buffy like a hawk, and in turn watched the Winchesters even closer.

Sam watched helplessly as Buffy practically wore a hole in the floor, and wished there was something he could do to ease her worry. But from what Xander and Anya had disclosed to her, he's not sure that he'd be acting any differently. He wasn't sure of the whole story, but he knew some details. Like the fact that after a couple weeks of research and recon in the underbelly of the city by Angel and Spike, they had come up with nothing except that every time the paranormal activity had risen to it's highest level, there had been some sort of catastrophe. Willow even seemed to link a couple of wars, natural disasters and through the process of going back with the pattern, she suggested the Ice Age may have even been result of high demonic activity.

They hit gold when Anya reconnected with an acquaintance in LA, a mystic named Thea with such high sensitivity to the goings on of both the underworld and the over, she refused to leave the comfort of her home (which happened to be a bomb shelter under a large and unused mansion she earned from reading the tarot cards of celebrities and always being right.) The only thing Xander mentioned about what the Seer had said was the universe outside the earth, the solar system; even Heaven itself was in trouble. How Anya knew such a powerful seer, Sam had no idea. In fact, as much as the Winchesters had fit in nicely with the Scoobies, Sam often felt they were being kept in the dark about many things. All he knew now was that this Seer was making her way to the Summers house, along with this Giles person who was being picked up by Xander at the airport.

Sam turned to look into the living room, where he locked eyes with his brother. They exchanged a frown, but at that exact moment a knock at the door came that made the entire room jump. Buffy practically flew to the door, throwing it open. The room was so silent; it hurt Sam's ears. But the visitor at the doorstep was far more of a concern. It was someone familiar, but not to the people who belonged to this house.

Castiel stood in the doorway, eyes wide and fixed on Sam.

"The angels are falling. It has begun."


	3. Part III

**Part Three:**

_[flashback]_

"Why aren't you telling them everything?"

The night after the Winchester's arrival was a bit more hectic than their first night in the Summers home. After everyone had met everyone else, Anya had sufficiently made both Sam and Dean uncomfortable within 20 minutes of meeting them and they were now gathered around the dinner table, munching on Chinese food and swapping stories of where everyone came from and recalling anecdotes of difficult hunts and the biggest of bads.

Buffy had pulled Willow and Xander aside and asked them to do one thing; not mention to the Winchesters about Anya being a demon, Dawn's stint as a key and the fact that both Spike and Angel were not of the living variety. She explained that she just wasn't sure if they were going to understand.

This, of course, annoyed Angel to no end.

"Is it the fact that you, oh I dunno, perhaps, don't TRUST THEM?" Angel paced the kitchen floor, glowering at his shoes as he walked. Buffy stood quite still, leaning against the counter and following Angel with her eyes.

"Don't be stupid. They seem genuine enough. I just don't want to make this more complicated until it needs to be. They know Will and Tara are witches, they seem to be cool with that." She frowned slightly, "Besides when Will set Dean's pants on fire when he made the crude redhead joke. Anways, sure, maybe I don't know if I can trust them fully. But wouldn't you prefer being safe as opposed to being swept into a hefty bag?"

"You're not cute when you do that, you know." Angel growled, stopping his pacing and staring at her hard. She smirked slightly, until she noticed someone standing in the doorway.

"Sorry," Sam looked between the two nervously, "was I interrupting something?"

"No. We're done." Buffy quickly walked from the room, not giving Angel a second glance. Angel looked at Sam, then to his feet again.

"I'm sorry if I was a bit on edge last night," he said through tight lips, "we're just not used to newcomers here. You never know-"

"Who you can trust. I getcha." Sam finished, and Angel nodded solemnly. Sam walked to the island and began loading his plate with more food. "Garlic chicken?"

"No. Thanks."

{]º[}

_What does this wanker want?_

"Oi, what does this wanker want?"

Spike had all but raised his chin an inch from his chest to check out the newest guest in the Summers house. He looked around at everyone else and noticed the Winchesters looked rather shook up.

"Do you have anything constructive to say, ever?" Angel shot at him before striding over to the front hall where Buffy and Sam still stood, staring at the man in the doorway.

"Castiel," Dean rose from his seat as well, striding over to the doorway, "what are you doing here?"

Everyone else on the couch got up as well, and shuffled over to the front hall. Spike was left sitting in the living room, staring at the backs of the Scoobies.

"That's bloody brilliant. Why the hell am I even here?"

"I dunno, go home then." Angel raised his voice to ensure catching Spikes attention. He sighed and rolled his eyes, finally getting up and walking over to the group.

Dean looked Castiel over. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with him physically, but there was a look on his face that Dean had never seen before. It was pure and utter panic.

"Cas," he said again, touching the angel's shoulder, "Cas."

Castiel looked over to him and a flash of relief came and went across his face. He then looked around at the group of people gawking curiously at him.

"Oh, uhm, Castiel this is Buffy Summers, she's uh…well, she's a vampire slayer. This is her house, and uh, this is her sister Dawn. And this is Willow, and Anya."

"What am I, crap on toast?" Spike chimed in from the back of the group.

"Basically." Angel muttered, and Castiel turned his gaze to him.

"Who is this?" he asked, boring into Angel with his stare. Angel looked unnerved and fidgeted a bit, looking at Buffy, who spoke next.

"This is Angel."

Castiel looked from Buffy to Angel again.

"This is no angel."

"No." Dean and Spike snorted in unison, but Castiel kept his gaze fixed on Angel.

"I am an angel."

"What, he's an angel? Like, with wings and Birkenstocks and a harp?" Anya questioned, looking at Castiel's back curiously.

"Uhm, no. I'm not. My er, my name is…uhm….my name is Angel." Angel said, feeling more and more uncomfortable with the way Castiel was staring at him. Spike snorted again, ignoring the impatient look from Buffy.

"You are a vampire." Castiel said, matter-of-factly. Everyone in the group tensed at once, and Sam chuckled a bit.

"Cas, what're you…" he glanced at Buffy's face, and his grin slid at once. "He's a, uhm….a vampire?" Buffy nodded and Sam looked to Dean, who looked just as shocked as Sam felt. Spike began to laugh harder, and Castiel turned to stare at him.

"You are a vampire as well, but the aura around your head is odd, I'm not sure what it means."

This time Angel snorted, and Spike scowled at both of them. Sam and Dean began to look more and more concerned, slowly backing into the living room and away from the Scoobies. Castiel cast his glance around the group again and pointed to Anya.

"You are a demon as well," then he turned to Buffy, who stared at him amazed, her mouth slightly open, "and you….I know you." Castiel tilted his head slightly, looking at Buffy as if he were scanning her with an x-ray. Buffy frowned and finally tore herself away from his gaze, which continued after she found Sam's eyes and addressed the brothers.

"Guys, we were going to tell you, I just didn't know-"

"What else are you keeping from us?" Sam said, somewhat angrily. Dean just stood, staring at Castiel, trying to get him to look at him. Something was wrong, he wasn't sure why no one else was worried about why the angel had shown up on their doorstep with such an ominous message. Castiel instead focused on Dawn, who took a step back. He leaned towards her, his head still cocked to the side. Sam saw this and shot an angry look at Buffy, "So what is Dawn then? A werewolf?"

"Naw, that was Willow's old flame." Spike interjected, and was met by a steely gaze from Willow and Buffy. Dawn spoke, her voice shaking slightly.

"I was a key. I opened a, uhm, a portal. To a hell dimension. But I'm totally human now! 100% grade A human. Yupp. Human."

Sam felt as if his head was about to fall off. "Is anyone here totally, strictly, no paranormal strings attached HUMAN?"

There was silence, then from the door a hand rose, and Xander peered around it sheepishly. "Yah, uhm. That'd be me." He squeezed into the now crowded hallway, a suitcase in tow.

Dean strode over to Castiel and looked him square in the face, finally finding his eyes. Castiel stared at Dean, but for a moment looked down at his shoes.

"Cas, what is happening? I've never seen you act like this."

Castiel seemed to snap out of whatever was transfixing him before and suddenly looked very, very tired. He walked over to the sofa and sank into it, his hands reaching his face and rubbing the stubble that began to grow on his chin. Dean followed and sat on the coffee table before him.

The door opened once again and Giles came in with another suitcase. He looked around, confused at the amount of people in the hall at once.

"Oh, well, hello to you all. This is a, er, nice welcoming party."

Buffy broke her staring match with Sam and looked to her Watcher. "Giles, come in, Thea should be here soon."

"What the bloody hell is this, Piccadilly Circus?" Spike wedged himself from the front hall and flung himself onto the couch next to Castiel. The pair looked at one another; Spike, looking smug with his lips pursed, gave Castiel the once over. "Nice coat."

Castiel merely sighed and sunk into the couch again, staring at a spot on the wall over Dean's shoulder.

{]º[}

"Don't be angry."

Buffy and Sam stood on the back porch, Sam staring up at the sky ad Buffy staring up at his face. She never realized until now how much he reminded her of Riley. She put her hand on his shoulder. He didn't jerk away, that was a good sign.

Sam sighed and finally looked down at her.

"A vampire? Two vampires?"

"Yeh, but, Angel has a soul and Spike has a chip."

Sam stared at her blankly and she shook her head. "Oh jeez, okay. I meant they're harmless, really. I've been working with them for years. Angel and I even dated-" she saw Sam's brow furrow and she stopped midsentence, but the damage had been done. "It was a long time ago. I'm not with him now."

"Are you with Spike?" he asked, looking back up at the sky, not really wanting to hear the answer.

"I don't think that's any of your business." She shot back, a little to harshly. She regretted it as soon as she said it that way.

"Fine, it's none of our business. We'll just be going and we'll work the case by ourselves, and you and your-"

"Buffy!" Willow's voice from inside startled both of them, "Thea is here."

Buffy looked up at Sam, anger welling up inside her. "Listen, we didn't know how much we could trust you with. Tell me, if you knew Angel was a vampire would you have killed him?"

"I dunno, I guess. I don't know." He thought for a moment, "Spike, yeh. Definitely."

"Well you're not killing anyone because this is my team, like it or not. They may not be the poster children for grace and purity but they've fought along side me and saved my ass more times than I can count."

Sam was lost in thought again, understanding quite well what Buffy was saying. He finally looked her in the eye and nodded. She stared up at him, daggers in her eyes, daring him to talk back.

Their lips met almost instantly, the little blonde surprisingly strong against his tall frame. His hands found their way into her hair, and he breathed in her scent; like morning glory and green tea.

They parted, and stared at one another for a moment. Until he saw her eyes widen as she watched something over his shoulder. He turned in time to see another bright star shine brilliantly, then go out. Just as it had the night they arrive at the Summers house.

"What the-"

"Buffy!" Willows voice, more urgent now came from inside again. The two exchanged one last glance before running into the house.

{]º[}

Sam and Buffy rushed to the living room, where they found the Scoobies gathered around a small, and rather catlike looking woman with flyaway grey hair and long red nails. She gazed up at Buffy, the same time Dean looked up at his brother. The flush of red on both their cheeks and the somewhat guilty look on Sam's face gave him away to his brother instantly. Dean felt a pang of jealousy in his chest, and looked back to Castiel, who was rapt with attention at the women sitting next to him.

"Ah, the Slayer." she said, in an airy, girlish voice that could rival wind chimes. "And, the Winchester boy." Her eyes sparkled as she seemed to choose her words wisely when speaking to Sam. He stared right back at her, taking in the heavily lined face and her tiny, frail body seemed to be draped with hundreds of scarves , as if she were just a pile of beautiful rags sitting on the sofa before him. He noticed Dean staring at him and ignored it. The only thing that mattered right now was what the hell was going on, and-

"Why are the stars going out?" she asked wistfully, smiling at him. Everyone in the room looked confused, looking from her to Sam with questioning faces.

"What the hell is she on about?" Spike blurted, still sitting next to Castiel, who didn't seem to appreciate his colour commentary and shot him a scathing look. Giles cleaned his glasses and gave a small cough.

"Excuse me, Thea?"

"This isn't the first time you've seen an angel fall, is it, my dear Sam?" Thea asked, tenting her fingers together and looking intently at him . Sam shook his head, and Castiel sat up straight, staring at him.

"What does she mean, Sam?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly. Sam sighed and looked to Buffy.

"We saw a star go out, just now," she explained, and shook her head, "but I don't see how that has anything-"

"That was no star, Miss Summers," Thea said carefully, still watching Sam, "that was an angel falling. Falling from heaven. One of God's lights going out. One by one, they'll all go out. Until the world is plunged into darkness."

"And demons will take over?" Dean asked, eyeing Angel menacingly. Angel stood in the corner again, watching Thea speak, but caught this pointed glance and glowered at Dean.

"No, no. Even hell's flames are being put out. The world is collapsing in on itself. The universe," Thea closed her eyes and took a breath, "is folding in on itself. And it is only a matter of time before all of the angels and all of the demons of the world are no longer there to act as supporting pillars in life."

"How do we save the angels?" Dawn asked timidly, her voice coming from next to Dean. The small girl had sat next to Dean on the coffee table, and gotten just close enough to him that he hadn't even noticed her there. He instinctively put his arm around her, and looked to Thea for her answer.

"No, no, dear girl. It is not a question of who we save, or who will win. We are in this together. The balance between right and wrong, dark and like, good and evil is put in place for a reason. Without it, our world would cease to exist. There cannot be one without the other. Whatever is destroying the angels and collapsing Hell is not choosing sides. There are no sides anymore."

Angel scoffed. "So you're expecting us to save Heaven _and_ Hell from, WHATEVER is destroying them otherwise…"

"Otherwise, Liam, everything, and I mean everything, will cease to exist. This isn't your regular apocalypse. This is the end of existence in its simplest form. The universe is in peril."

"Well off we go then, to boldly slay where no man has slayed before." Xander chuckled, looking around the room. "Slayed? Slain? It's slain isn't it-"

"How do we stop it?" Sam urged, kneeling down before Thea and looking her directly in the eyes. She peered into his face, her eyes a wintery grey, sharp and clear. She took his face in her hands, softly and gently as a mother would to console her child. She tutted her tongue, and smiled a small, knowing smile.

"My dearest Sam. You don't."


	4. Part IV

**Part Four:**

The Winchesters had set up camp in the Summers basement, and only after the 15th day of their visit did Dean finally realize that this was the longest they've spent on a hunt without anything actually going down.

"I'm getting restless, man." He admitted to Sam one morning as they prepared to trudge upstairs for breakfast with the girls. Sam didn't say anything, but instead concentrated on putting his socks on. "Sammy?"

"What?" Sam snapped, shooting Dean a scowl. Dean put his hands up.

"Whoa, dude. Calm down. What's gotten into you? You've been so quiet since last night." When his question was met with more silence, he looked at Sam carefully and said in a low voice, "What happened with you and Buffy?"

"Nothing, okay? This is all nothing. We're dead in the water, Dean. You heard Thea, there's nothing we can do. We've been working at this for weeks now and it's all come down to nothing. It's pointless" The brothers sat, in a silent staring match. Sam broke the silence, "Let's get upstairs." He stood up abruptly and left the basement, taking two stairs at a time. Dean was left to sit alone on his cot, staring at the floor. A ruffling sound from beside him made him jump, and he turned to find Castiel sitting on the cot next to him. Castiel left as soon as Thea did the night before, without a word to either Winchester.

"Cas?"

"I've spoken to the archangels, and they seem to have no idea as to what's going on. There are just angels disappearing everywhere. And we don't know where they've gone. If they're even still alive. It's chaos up there." Castiel spoke in his normal, steady tone. Dean sighed and put his head in his hands. "I think, this is not good, Dean."

"No, no it doesn't look that way does it, Cas?" Dean hung his head, thinking of what Sam had just said to him. Sam had never been the negative one, and was in most cases the reason why Dean didn't look at every situation with a doom and gloom attitude. It was unnerving to him that even Sam was beginning to feel as if the weeks they spent with the Scoobies was all for nothing. As much as he had grown to care for them; his slight crush on Buffy, Dawn's major crush on him; Willow and Sam getting along like two nerds at a nerd convention, and even he and Spike had a rousing conversation on the importance of prog rock as compared to other genres, (Dean trying to convince Spike that Rush was better than The Clash resulted in him being called a tosser and told to go live with those "bloody Canucks" if he loved them so damn much) every corner they've turned so far has been a dead end.

"I have a theory," Cas started, and Dean jerked his head round to look at him, "Thea spoke of balance, and the fact that Hell seems to be losing players on their side as well. Perhaps, it's time we take a look at the other team?" Dean frowned and Castiel tilted his head thoughtfully. "Did I not use the sports analogy correctly?"

"No, no, I just don't understand-"

"Dean, you know I wish no pain or struggle upon you. You know I would do this myself, but an angels presence in Hell…well, let's just say it would not go over well."

"What are you saying? That-that I need to go back to Hell and take a quick poke around and see if any of the furniture is missing?" Dean stood angrily, turning to face Castiel. Castiel looked up at him, his eyes unblinking and somber.

"You need not be alone, Dean. There is someone else in this place who has been exactly where you have."

{]º[}

When Dean and Castiel finally came up the stairs, they were met with the slight smell of smoke and a figure standing in the front hall, wrapped in a rather disgusting looking brown blanket. Sam stood in the doorway to the hall, and avoided Dean's eyes.

"Buffy, did you know Flame Boy was here?" Sam called into the dining room, and as the blanket fell to the ground and there stood Spike, giving him a very rude hand gesture, Sam added, "I stand by my previous statement."

Spike's upper lip curled back for a moment and he swept past Sam and Dean with no other acknowledgement, besides smirking and giving a nod to Castiel. The three followed him into the kitchen, where Buffy and Willow stood, heads bowed and deep in conversation. Dawn sat munching happily on her cereal, and beamed when the group entered the kitchen.

"Hey nibblet." Spike said, avoiding a sunbeam that spread across the island and onto the floor. He butted behind Buffy and Willow and perched himself on the counter in the corner. Buffy frowned at him and looked over to the Winchesters. Her frown softened slightly when she saw Sam (which did not go unnoticed by either Spike or Dean) and Willow broke the silence when she noticed Castiel lingering in the doorway.

"Castiel! What're you doing here? Any news from up there?" she grinned goofily and made an awkward gesture towards the ceiling. Dean kept his eyes to the floor, and Sam took a seat at the island next to Dawn.

"They are at as much of a loss as we are, unfortunately. But I have mentioned to Dean a plan to perhaps gather a bit more information."

Sam looked at his brother, who was still staring at his shoes. He then looked to Castiel, who was staring intently at Buffy.

"Your Angel, the one who is not an angel," he began taking a few steps towards her, "he has reclaimed his soul, yes?" She nodded, and Castiel continued, "He has also been sent to Hell and returned, am I correct?"

A look of realization dawned on both Buffy and Sam's faces, and Sam stood up and took a step towards Dean.

"No, absolutely not. If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, then no." Sam stared at Dean, his voice rising with every word. Dean looked up at him, and then to Castiel.

"You want to send Angel to Hell again?" Willow asked. Castiel nodded, and she looked confused, "What does this have to do with Dean?"

"Well, uh, seems Angel and I have something in common." Dean finally spoke, and Sam shook his head, a pained expression on his face.

"Dean, no. "

"Why not, Sammy?" Dean shot back, feeling so incredibly angry at his brother; for so many reasons, many of which he couldn't quite get a grasp on. "This is it, this is something we can do. So it's not so pointless." He hit the last word hard, staring defiantly at Sam, before turning to leave out the back door.

{]º[}

CRASH

"Xander, I swear to God, if you knocked over another one of my fertility statues I will personally throttle you to death with my tie. I don't care how curious you are as to the depth of detail in their anatomical correctness, I-"

Giles came barging from the back of the Magic Box, only to find Castiel standing next to a broken table, it's contents splayed across the floor of the shop. He looked at Giles, somewhat apologetically, and with a wave of his hand repaired the table and replaced the items. Giles sighed and nodded to him. "Thank you, Castiel."

"I apologize, my aim in teleportation is not usually off." Castiel looked around the store curiously, picking up a small bundle of sage and smelling it. Giles tilted his head slightly, watching him.

"Is there something I can do for you?"

Castiel looked up from the crystal ball he was holding, and nodded slightly.

"I came to ask you more on the Slayer." He replaced the ball and stepped lightly down the few steps into the main store. Giles sat at the table next to the bookshelves and leaned back into his chair.

"What more do you need to know? I've told you about the long lineage of the Slayers power, how if one Slayer dies another is called-"

"Buffy has already died, hasn't she?" Castiel interrupted, and Giles stared at him intently for a while, before removing his glasses and pressing his fingers to his temples.

"Twice, actually."

"So there should be another active Slayer out there?"

"There was, Kendra. She was killed a few years ago. Then another was called, her name is Faith."

"Is? She is alive still?"

"In a prison Los Angeles, yes." Giles replaced his glasses and searched Castiel's face. "How did you know Buffy had died?"

Castiel paused fiddling with a plaster unicorn statue on the shelf and cocked his head. "She was a resident of Heaven for some time. A very special person up there, to be honest. Right with the saints and martyrs. I had always wondered where she had gone. Your witch brought her back to Earth, I gather?"

Giles stared at Castiel in shock. The news of Buffy's whereabouts while she was dead hit him like a transport truck to the chest. He had assumed, as the rest of the group had, that she was stuck in whatever hell dimension she had jumped into to close the portal. Though he was overjoyed that she was back with them (the feeling was almost indescribable, and he remembered in that moment the call from Willow telling him his Slayer was back from the dead, and the hour or so he spent sobbing on the couch over his fifth glass of brandy that evening before booking a flight back to Sunnydale to see her with his own two eyes. He had taken to drinking that and more each night to quell his anxiety and the horrid dreams that often flooded his sleep) the thought of ripping her soul from a place of peace, a place where she was revered and treated with the love and respect she had deserved for her hard work and unending sacrifice; well the thought made him want to turn back to his bottle of brandy and be damned for eternity. He had almost forgotten Castiel was still there until he felt someone standing quite close to his shoulder, breathing softly. He looked up, and Castiel held up the unicorn.

"What is the price of this horned equus?"

{]º[}

Night had fallen and Buffy was out on patrol, Sam at her side. Willow and Xander had taken the other end of town, and Buffy had begun to wonder if she should have asked Spike to cover the spaces between. They had run into three vampires and two other demons during their walk, and it had only been nightfall for a few hours.

"We're pretty much used to just going after one at a time." Same had confessed after having trouble keeping up with Buffy in their last standoff against a particularly nasty demon with sharp, oozing fangs on his arms and a habit of trying to bear hug Sam before Buffy had chopped it's head clear off with her axe. She smiled softly at Sam and shook her head, "It's okay, it's hard to keep up with a Slayer. Super strength means super stamina. And to be honest, I've never had this much action in one night. Before you guys came to town, I didn't get much action at all actually." Her eyes widened as she saw the slightly shocked look on Sam's face when she said that, and cleared her throat. "Action, er, uhm demon action. Not action with demons, just, action, like, kicko-fighto action, you know. Uhm…" she stopped walking and turned to Sam, looking up at him. "About last night, the kiss. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable or anything. I don't fancy the idea of scaring off my best new fighters, especially at this time. Not that that's what I wanna keep you around for! I mean, you and Dean have been great with us and I think Dawn would kill me if I was ever the reason Dean went away and-" she looked horrified at herself as she spoke "oh my GOD, someone usually stops me when I babble like this cause I do it a lot and-"

She was cut off by Sam's mouth on hers, and her arms automatically reached up to his neck, standing on her tip-toes to reach him comfortably. His arms snaked around his waist and pulled her in towards him, kissing her harder. They stumbled slightly, Buffy backing up into a large oak tree behind him, and Sam leaning in to kiss her again.

"I don't…usually…" she said between hard, furious kisses he was planting on her mouth and neck, her hands reaching up the front of his shirt and over his chest, "…act like…this…like…" his mouth met hers again and she melted into his body, arms long, muscular arms wrapping around her tiny frame, and picking her up so her legs wrapped around his waist. Sam breathed in that scent again, and marveled at her strength. She felt so small and fragile in his hands, and yet he knew she could probably break his hip with the legs she had wrapped around him. He had never been with someone who could beat him in a fight, someone who didn't need him to protect her, but needed him in a whole different way. This difference, to Sam, was what was driving his heart to pound so hard he felt it would rip out of his chest whenever he saw her.

"I didn't think you were interested," he breathed, his mouth next to her ear, "I thought you'd go for Dean for sure." His stomach gave a slight pang as he spoke his brother's name. He hadn't returned after storming out, though they got a call from Giles later saying Dean had parked his car outside the Magic Box and had sat there for a couple hours, just playing music loudly and, as Giles explained,"banging incessantly on the steering wheel like some sort of primate." After swapping stories with Buffy on the circumstances of Dean and Angel's trips to Hell, Buffy agreed to try and think of another plan. Castiel seemed quite unhappy with this and left the house in the same manner, if not a bit more stoically, as Dean had.

She stopped kissing him and looked at him, eyebrows raised. Sam opened his mouth to speak again, but she pressed a finger to his lips.

"You mean all those stolen glances we've been exchanging these past two weeks gave you no indication that I thought you were a total hottie? Not even the ass grab at lunch yesterday?" He smiled kissed her finger, and she smirked coyly. She traced her finger down his jaw line to his neck, across his collarbone and down the front of his shirt. Her fingers had just wrapped around his belt buckle when a cough came from a few feet away. They stopped mid kiss, and slowly turned both their heads to the side.

"Hey, B. Who's the Jolly Green Giant?"

Faith stood with Castiel, who looked slightly embarrassed. Faith, however smiled a wicked smile and looked Sam up and down. She licked her lips and eyed him devilishly.

"And does he have a brother or somethin' cause…damn!"


End file.
